55 mins is no problem, stick in less content and put in links to the rest as extra reading. A lot of students forget that directed learning is only a small percentage of their course, and that they have to do their own stuff. Also, there is a thing called turning point in my uni, do you know if you have access to it? It's basically a set of buzzers, that link in with powerpoint, so you can ask a question, and instead of waiting for students to answer, they can each 'vote' for which ever answer they think is best, a la Who Wants To Be a Millionaire, and then you can use that as interaction that works well for larger classes. Or I used to have a lecturer who stuck in a random slide half way through as a 'break slide' to lift things a bit. Good luck Sneaks!
And JStanley, I look a lot younger than I am too, I still get refused alcohol without ID and one of my students parents was quite rude when she met me saying she couldn't believe I was a lecturer etc. But I just brush it off and say to them "oh lucky me, you'd never know I'm grey underneath from all the work of getting my PhD" ;-)

Nah, keep lectures interactive or students will switch off and it's hard to get them back! I keep seminars/tutorials for proper group activities, like going over a paper and discussing it like a journal group, or extended group work where i present or teach something for first 10 mins and they work on it for the rest. But for lectures, you just need to get them to interact for a few minutes every 15-20 mins or so and it'll be fine. The first revision lecture I did was a total surprise for me. As it was a revision class I let them pick a topic that they were unsure of, and basically retaught it, but in a much more relaxed style, going over some things really slowly and then firing questions at them out of the blue. Example..."so organophosphates are nerve toxins, as they interfere with the nervous system ..."(then I'd just swing round and call out) "What do organophosphates interfere with?!" I think the first few times I did it they were like WTF???...but by the end they were smiling and answering straight away, and they had to listen cos I'd keep asking, and perhaps most importantly, as they were really simple questions they didn't feel too self conscious shouting out the answer, and they actually remembered it better and understood it better. The best bit was when one student came up at the end and said it was my best lecture yet. I guess everyone finds their own style, but I found that helped me stop them from snoozing! :$

One thing I've learned since finishing...it's not a race, just do the best you can and you will get there. Don't compare yourself to others, it does no good and everyones situation/personality is different. Plus, there are bugger all jobs out there, so no point rushing to finish to sign on... :) Cynical I know, but just remember you only get one shot at this, so make the most of it. And if you need a break, take it, don't shut yourself away to hammer it out, it won't help in the long run.

Hi there
Just a short reply to say I totally know the feeling about not knowing your subject matter! After my PhD I started a lecturing job which was like a total shock to the system. I was hired on my particular subject expertise and then quickly shuffled around the department teaching anything and everything for any staff who were too busy or wanted to reduce their teaching. I'm still in the job, and have taught a whole range of topics to final year and MSc students, including stuff I've never even studied myself, not even remotely related to my area, never mind something I specialise in. It's totally nerve wracking when you are faced with students at that level and having to teach stuff you have only started learning about 4 days before, technical subjects included.
One thing I found was handy was discussion groups. When faced with a class who just don't answer if you ask questions, either due to shyness or just laziness at having to think for themselves, I would tell them to discuss something in groups for 10 minutes. Then I'd walk around and chat to each group, helping lead discussion and make sure they are on the right track. It lifts the class, and gives you a much needed break from holding the fort and talking for an hour. Also, if you can, learn a diagram and instead of just putting it up on a slide, use a white board and interaction with the class to draw the diagram together. It helps them understand it much better, and uses up some time too! Hope this helps for some of the scarier classes!

Hey Keenbean, I've just seen your news, that's fantastic!! Congratulations, especially after the super fast finishing and prep time!! Good luck for the job and finishing the corrections, wee buns to ya!! And do make sure to get some rest!!

Yea I's use numbers Sneaks, it's much clearer to keep a hold on what part you're in than using something like page numbers to refer to soemthing, plus in a big document it helps keep the map in your mind when you're reading back over it all in one go.
Also for the tables, in chap 1, table 1.1, 1.2. etc; in chap 2, start with table 2.1, 2.2 etc. Also helps to keep track of where things are and what part you are in when reading it altogether. :)

absolutely fantastic news Pineapple!! I've not been on much and it's great to finally hear your viva is over and you're passed, like we all knew you would! Good luck with the corrections, get them over with asap and then you're free! :-):-)

Congratulations!!!

Did you get it all sorted Sneaks? For mine I wrote it all separately, but to combine it all I just copied and pasted each chapter into the big document, including all the formatting and there were few issues.
Its possible to use section breaks to insert a landscape page, but be careful of the page numbers when it comes to that point, you need to fiddle around a bit to get them in the right position for when the page is printed. Also if your margins are not equal like in my uni (left margin bigger for binding) then you need to check the page number is in the right side for when it's printing, I had to change mine after it had been to sent to the printers and they called to say it was coming out upside down.

ah well, it seems if you hover the mouse over the hypothesis table it gets a yellow border and a little box flashes up momentarily saying click to activate. When you click it then opens a new window where it gives you all the stats for each individual variable as you click through them on the hypothesis table. It's utterly ridiculous, so I would recommend using the old version if you can! I'm off to the library to see if I can get a new license for my old version, can't be doing with the new one.

Ah ok I got it! :-)

I have been trying to redo some Mann Whitneys in the new SPSS and I cannot figure out how to get the actual U values! I can only get an output table saying the P values and whether or not to reject the hypothesis...but no actual stats values. Anyone know how to do this?!

Much thanks!

======= Date Modified 28 Mar 2011 19:56:43 =======
Ha I know the feeling DanB! Just after the viva I started a new job, in a new city (country technically, given as it's in Scotland and I'm from NI...) and ended a long term relationship (which is possibly starting again, nothing like keeping things interesting eh) which has all been a bit crazy! So far I've been taking things as they come, which has been thick and fast and rather overwhelming to be honest, but tempered with baths and lots of wine and it's been manageable! Has meant a workload similar to final phd year which hasn't been great, but I can't complain cos I actually have a job which is really the dream job for me, if I could have just one day off a week I'd be in heaven I think!
Tips wise, I'd say roll with whatever comes along, but do make time for yourself when you can, and be brave, you can totally do this!!!

Anyone in Scotland here btw?!

Sneaks - for that bit, trying to cut down loads of text and only get the most important stuff - I would do it by talking out loud to myself as if I was explaining the topic and the context of the thing to my parents. I would have to cut it down to the very bare bones of what is important, talk about it in a coherent way and then just write down the bullet points of that. Then I'd just build up around that from what I had already written, a few thousand words on each point, and then look over it again to see if there was anything missing. Then I'd speak out loud to myself as if I was explaining it to a member of the department so I'm using scientific language and going into more detail than before, and then I'd tweak it to make sure it all makes sense and flows properly and I'm not leaving out any key papers.

It's much more enjoyable than just constantly re-reading the text trying to cut down words here and there, plus it makes sure you really see where the argument is going and what the common thread between all sections is (or helps you see why you might not have/need a common thread...).

good luck sneaks!! Just keep drawing up plans for the month and then for each week and then each day, and cross things off, it will make you feel so much better doing that. It's the last crappy slog, you can get there!! Today I'm trying to get my corrections finished, must get them all done by the end of the week and it's looking tight.

Congratulations Dr!! and 3 spelling mistakes, wow that's great!! Make sure you properly enjoy yourself now!!